A Compass That Doesn't Point North
by Gigabomb
Summary: Azula, Long Feng. If presented with a river, a canoe, and a bridge that would take three days of travel to get to, an Earthbender would invariably take the long way around. Unfortunately, some don't get a choice in the matter.


Author's Note: Written for rayemars as a Christmas present.

Earthbenders were not meant to travel by ship. The small navy Ba Sing Se had retained had been manned entirely by nonbenders, and for good reason.

Earthbenders were not meant to travel by ship. Were not meant to stand anywhere where they could not feel the earth around them. Were not meant to leave land at all.

Intellectually, Long Feng had always known this. Had even experienced it firsthand, to some extent, when he had spent those weeks in the prison below the Earth King's palace surrounded by processed iron and studiously ignoring his shaking hands and the food shoved under the grate until hunger finally overcame extreme nausea. However, even there he had been able to sense the earth, too far away to bend but close enough to feel the low-pitched hum of granite and shale and the slight higher tones of hard-packed sand, just out of reach. He hadn't slept well, but at least he had slept.

The same couldn't be said now, hundreds of miles from the nearest landmass and heading further away by the hour. The Fire Nation ship had left the southern coast of the Earth Kingdom four days ago, and it would be weeks before it passed the first isle in the string of islands that made up the Fire Nation. In the room assigned to him on the Fire Nation princess's order, Long Feng had lain with his eyes closed and an excruciating migraine clawing down his spine. He had doused the lamp on the first day. It did not really help.

He had anticipated the journey with dread, though he had not had long to do so, only being told the day before the Princess Azula's departure that he would be accompanying her and the prince back to the Fire Nation capital to, as she put it, 'act as her advisor concerning all matters pertaining to the Earth Kingdom.' It was fortunate that all Dai Li operatives, active and retired, automatically had their possessions ceded to the state upon death or becoming otherwise disposed. As it was, Long Feng barely had time to pack, much less put his affairs in order.

The Fire Nation Army had entered Ba Sing Se two weeks before to little fanfare, the city's populace due to the Dai Li's efforts too disorganized, too fearful, or too ignorant to put up any resistance to the Fire Nation's occupation. A mewling, pathetic sycophant whom Long Feng had despised on sight and was according to the princess one of her father's favorites, had arrived with the army to act in the Fire Nation's stead as governor of the city, nodding earnestly at Princess Azula's instructions while self-satisfaction at his new post radiated from his every pore. The man barely blinked at her offhand mention of the Dai Li as the preservers of cultural integrity within Ba Sing Se, did not give Long Feng—standing at the time two steps to the right and one step behind the princess with his hands folded behind him—a second glance, and the first one had slid over him with obvious dismissal.

The Fire Nation noble who was to rule over the city Long Feng had dedicated his life to was a fool, and Long Feng did not know whether to be amused or dismayed at the way the princess recognized this as well, and acted accordingly. An incompetent governor was one likely manage badly and quell the inevitable discontent with force, and though Long Feng had no particular desire to see Ba Sing Se's residents massacred by the crowd, he also knew that such an environment was one likely to foster true rebellion, the sort that would let the governor know in short order that a city of Ba Sing Se's size could not be held by an army alone.

But Princess Azula, unfortunately, was far from a fool. She had not even bothered to be subtle about glossing over the Dai Li's role in the coupe, had stood with her hands clasped in front of her and stumbled over the new governor's questions about trade routes and troop placement within the city with her eyes averted ever so slightly towards the floor. The governor had smiled tolerantly and reassured her that he was sure such information could be gathered from the city's records, that he should have known that the Fire Nation princess had no reason to concern herself with such minutiae. Long Feng had been hard pressed not to roll his eyes. Perhaps the performance had not been as bad as all that—he had been taken in as easily as the governor when he had first met the princess—but he still had gotten the feeling that Princess Azula had not been putting much effort into her deception.

Not that she had needed to. The governor had not even noticed the Dai Li agents standing unobtrusively at every corner of the room and by every door, had apparently never given a thought as to how a girl that could take over the greatest city in the Earth Kingdom in a week could possibly be anything less than brilliant. He was a puppet, one that would dance at a word or have his strings cut on the orders that Long Feng knew the princess had already given out to the Dai Li agents stationed within the palace.

Long Feng did not spare the man much contemplation after their initial meeting. He had spent the first fortnight of the Fire Nation's occupation overseeing the narrowing of the streets of the Lower Ring to prevent potential riots and idly waiting to have one of his former subordinates murder him in his sleep as soon as Princess Azula made the decision that he had outlived his usefulness.

It had not happened. He could appreciate the princess's reasoning, he supposed. She might be able to rule Ba Sing Se from afar with only one of her father's hangers-on to deal with, but not if he was in a position to reassert his former authority. Killing him would have been the simplest way to deal with the issue, but he knew that she knew that that could prove possibly problematic in the long run.

So instead, she did this. It was a good idea, as far as it went, removing him as far as possible from his power base and bringing him entirely onto hers, being able to use the knowledge he possessed without fear of being betrayed in an attempt to return Ba Sing Se to its rightful place as the last remaining great Earth Kingdom city, something that would be impossible thousands of miles from the city itself. But only if he did not die of sheer misery in the process, which though technically medically impossible was starting to seem more and more likely as the days went on. Starvation was always a possibility.

Long Feng could have happily lived out the rest of his life without laying foot on a ship. How the Earth King had planned to invade the Fire Nation when the only way of getting there was by sea was a mystery. No Earthbender would ever willingly leave land, and even with the Earth King's order, there was little chance of any of the bending soldiers being in any condition to fight upon arrival at the Fire Nation. But then, there was a reason Long Feng had managed to rule without question in Ba Sing Se for so long. The Earth King had never been what one would call methodical. Or intelligent, really.

But now there would be no invasion of the Fire Nation at all. The only Earthbender to set foot on Fire Nation soil now, the first in over one hundred years, would be Long Feng himself, and he would have just as soon stayed in the Earth Kingdom. It was unfortunate he had absolutely no say in the matter.

Long Feng was considering what possible advantages there might have been to choosing the implied second option (one, never having to have gotten onto a boat) when there was a single knock on his cabin door. Long Feng opened his eyes in time to see Princess Azula enter without bothering to wait for his acknowledgement.

He managed to push himself into a sitting position on his bed without wincing, and briefly considered standing up to bow, but knew that attempting to become vertical at this point was unadvisable. The last time he had attempted to walk along the ship's corridors without the assistance of a wall, he had nearly fallen on his face. Equilibrium was by this point something of a cherished memory instead of an achievable goal. "Princess. Is there anything I can do for you?" He winced, then, though not from the pain. Since he had come on board, he had drank water little more than he had eaten food, which was not at all—the richness of Fire Nation fare along with his migraine-induced nausea could not possibly have positive results—and his throat was so dry that the words came out in a rasp.

She was, Long Feng noticed in the poor lighting provided by the hall and through the incessant pounding in his skull, dressed now in Fire Nation colors, a long red robe trimmed in yellow and decorated along the sleeves in the pattern of a dragon breathing fire in a slightly darker gold than the hem. It looked as expensive and impractical as the most sweeping of garments worn by Ba Sing Se's nobility, though Long Feng would have been convinced she wore a shirt and pants under the elaborate costume even if he could not see the fabric tucked into her boots. Princess Azula was not one to leave her protection in the hands of others.

For all the deficiencies in the robe's design, it did, however, make her look her part, as she had not quite when adorned in brown and green. Powerful then, yes, but not like the daughter of the Fire Lord. Now she did.

In Ba Sing Se, such a guise would have proven detrimental, reminded the Dai Li, perhaps, that they were deferring to the Fire Nation princess. To the enemy. The Fire Nation soldiers probably needed such a reminder of her rank. She was, after all, despite everything, still barely older than a child.

She was looking at him now, just inside the cabin's threshold with the door left cracked open, her head tilted slightly to the side, with her mouth quirked in a way Long Feng had come to interpret as amusement. "Long Feng. You look terrible. Seasick, I suppose?" The question came out as rhetorical, both because it was obvious and because she knew that that was not exactly the case. One of her first orders back at the Earth King's palace had been to bring her a file on Earthbenders' weaknesses, and the aversion to sea travel had figured prominently.

Long Feng said nothing, though his eyes flickered downward for a moment before he returned his gaze to hers. It would be foolish to stare. Coming across as confrontational now of all times—when he was not only away from land but means of support and an avenue of retreat as well—would likely have unpleasant results.

He wondered why she was here. It was possible that the princess had come to his room just to taunt him, but he doubted it. She did not come across as a person who made a habit of being pointlessly petty.

He was soon proven right, as after a brief pause, she spoke again, snapping her fingers as she did so and causing the room's lamp to flare brightly. Long Feng narrowed his eyes at the sudden illumination. The new infusion of light did little to improve his migraine. "Tonight you will be joining me, my brother, Admiral Wen and Captain Zhang in the state room for dinner. A soldier will come retrieve you before it begins." She looked him over critically. "The baths on the lowest deck will be free for the next hour. I expect you will use them." It was in a seeming non sequitur that she followed that up with, "Admiral Wen has only recently been promoted and is eager to prove himself to my father. Doubtlessly his report will be very thorough."

Long Feng met her eyes calmly. "And what would you like the Fire Lord to hear about me, Princess Azula?"

She smiled, then, different from before but still entirely familiar. It was the smile she had turned on him that first evening when she had sat on the Earth King's throne and watched him kneel before her, the expression one would normally use on an intelligent pet that had just accomplished a trick correctly for the first time. "You have done well enough so far. The admiral has to my brother already made a rather crude joke concerning the weak constitutions of Earthbenders. I want you to give him no reason to change his opinion."

Long Feng inclined his head. The message came across clearly enough. The Fire Lord did not want an Earthbender in the Fire Nation, but he would indulge his daughter. If the Earthbender was not a threat.

Well, Long Feng could play that role easily enough. He had no desire to die, not now that he was already on this infernal ship and certainly not just as they docked, and as disoriented as being so far away from land made him, it would not be difficult, if he could keep himself from too obviously grinding his teeth at the Fire Nation's officers' predictable derision. He could only hope that being so close to food did not make him ill.

As far as he could tell, that was it. But Princess Azula did not leave, at the lowering of his gaze actually took a step further into his cabin. Then another. Long Feng stared at her, startled despite himself, as she stopped less than a foot from his bed, close enough that she would not even have to reach out to touch him. He realized belatedly that he had shifted so that his back was now pressed against the wall, though his feet were still planted evenly on the floor in a thoughtless attempt to gain stable footing. A useless effort. He could have the most stable stance in the world and it would not do him the least good. Not here.

She did not blink as she met his stare, her yellow eyes looking slitted in the lamp light. After a long moment, Long Feng had to look away.

He expected her to smile. She did not. Strangely, her voice was unusually somber as she said, "There is no love for the Earth Kingdom in the Fire Nation. No matter what your title or accomplishments, you will never be seen as anything but the citizen of a conquered kingdom, and therefore as an object of hatred and scorn." Without any more warning than the slight increase of tension in the muscles of her shoulder, Long Feng felt her hand grip his chin and yank, forcing him to meet her eyes again. Long Feng raised his own hand, unconsciously, a gesture that would have in any other circumstance, with any other person, would have resulted in a breaking of fingers. He did not take to be touched well. But he was not in Ba Sing Se anymore. And Princess Azula was nothing like the Earth King.

He let his hand fall. The princess barely seemed to notice that he had moved, the slight tightening of her fingers the only acknowledgement of his aborted attempt at resistance, her nails biting further into his skin. Her stare did not shift. In her eyes, the lamp flame flickered red. "You cannot hope to find my father's favor. My brother cares not for the workings of the Earth Kingdom, and my uncle is a traitor that is not likely to survive the month. You will never see Ba Sing Se again."

He blinked, once, but otherwise did not change his expression. Ah. So that was how it was.

Long Feng forced himself to speak evenly as he replied, "And if you should grow tired of me?"

It was then that her smile, not so much a grin as a baring of teeth, crossed her lips, the shadows cast by the lamp making grotesque the shifting of the planes of her face. "I am not capricious. But you would do well to make sure it never happens. Fire Nation nobles thrive on sensing weakness. You would die quickly."

"How reassuring."

This time the grin actually held an edge of humor. "I said quickly. I never said anything about painlessly."

She let go of him, then, and turned away. Only at the doorway did she pause, and throw carelessly over one shoulder, "Remember. Dinner."

He had actually forgotten. "Of course."

Then she left.

Long Feng did not have time just then to contemplate what he had learned, did not have a moment to spare until after dinner, which he had spent not eating, blinking frequently, and answering all of the admiral's insults-poorly-disguised-as-questions and the captain's occasional quip with his eyes downcast and his voice low. The prince had seemed suspicious, staring alternately at him and then his sister with barely concealed confusion—hardly surprising, the boy had seen him back in Ba Sing Se and did not seem so unobservant that he would not notice the shift in behavior—but the two Fire Nation officers kept on sharing conspicuously amused glances when they thought he was not looking, so apparently he was not so poor an actor. The princess had also looked like she found something amusing, though for what Long Feng knew to be entirely different reasons.

Then after three hours had passed, it was over. Long Feng returned to his cabin, his hand trailing along the wall so it might catch him if he fell—he did not, fortunately—and sat down heavily on his bed. It was only after he turned to again douse the lamp that he saw the basket of bread rolls and glass of water on his bedside table. There was no note, but one was hardly necessary. There was only one person who could have possibly sent them, though he did not know why she bothered. Poisoning him at this late stage seemed a bit excessive.

He ate the rolls. Did not feel nauseous afterwards, which was encouraging. But though his migraine had receded for the first time in days, he still did not attempt to go to sleep. He had too much to think about to be bothered.

----

"So you are Long Feng."

Long Feng did not look up from his kneeling position before the Fire Lord's raised throne. "Yes, my lord." After three weeks of sea travel, he was still getting used to the feel of earth surrounding him again. The stone used in the building of the Fire Lord's castle was a different type than the kind used in the construction of the Earth King's palace. But it was still stone.

He may have been in the Fire Nation, but he was still, in some sense, in his element. It was more reassuring than Long Feng knew the situation warranted, but he could at least be thankful that this meeting was not happening on a boat.

"My daughter has an interesting choice in pets."

It was the same amused tone. If Long Feng dared to raise his eyes, it would probably be the same smile, as well. But as was rapidly becoming clear, the Fire Lord was not as clever as his daughter.

The Fire Lord would not allow an Earthbender in the Fire Nation if he could possibly pose a threat. So Long Feng would not present one.

"Yes, my lord."

A princess that had been born to rule would chafe under the rule of another. He could afford to wait. And if things went well… ? Perhaps it would not be as long as all that before his gaze fell again on his city's walls.

/ \

"If the highest aim of a captain were to preserve his ship, he would keep it in port forever."

-St. Thomas Aquinas


End file.
